OT: NCAA Men's Lacrosse Final Four

[QuikSand]

This weekend, at the Ravens Stadium in Baltimore:

#1 Johns Hopkins vs. #5 Syracuse
#2 Virginia vs. #3 Maryland

Syracuse is in the final four in lacrosse for the 21st consecutive year, which is pretty impressive even considering the overall scale of the sport. To get there this year, they had to beat #4 seed Princeton, who faced them in each of the last three national championship games (Syracuse won in 2000 and 2002).

Hopkins has been pretty consistent all year, and are very well coached - I think they will give Syracuse a lot of trouble. However, the Orange are (as always) very athletic and are finding themselves at the right time - they crushed Princeton in the quarterfinal match. Give Hopkins the edge, but not by as much as the records would suggest.

Virginia probably gets the edge over Maryland, as they have an attacker (John Christmas) who will probably score nearly at will against a decent but not gifted Maryland defense - he just presents a matchup I think they cannot handle. Maryland will try to run with them, and it could be a fairly high scoring matchup - but I'd nod to Virginia.


Finals on Monday... should be a good one, with at least one "new" face in the mix. (Though all these teams are routinely in the top ten, it's been dominated by Syracuse and Princeton for the last few years)

[Marmel]

I was a bit surprised that Syracuse got by Princeton. I thought this would be the year the streak came to an end.

I feel pretty much the same as you regarding both final four matchups. I give both Hopkins and Virginia an edge in these games, but neither is a large margin. You are correct when you say Syracuse is finding themselves at the right time. I remember midseason, some fans were writing them completely out of the tournament.

Are you going to any of the games Quiksand?

[Marmel]

dola....

Syracuse beat Hopkins early in the year, 15-14. The game was played in Syracuse. This gives Hopkins some added incentive coming into the game, but gives Syracuse some added confidence. Powell got shut down and scored no goals against Princeton in a loss early in the year and he said that really got him more focused for this past weekend's game, where he ended up scoring 3 and assisting on 2 (I think).

[henry296]

And Maryland and Virginia played earlier this year as well and Maryland won 8-7. It should be 2 tremendous games and basically home games for Hopkins and Maryland since the games are at M&T Bank Stadium and Baltimore.

Todd

[Butter]

What the hell ever happened to the MILL?

That "he's got rope" guy (who commented on the games for ESPN) really irritated the shit out of me.

[cuervo72]

Hopkins is still in it, huh? I'm sure they'll flame out soon, they always have (at least since I went there).

[QuikSand]

This, by most accounts, is a year without a truly great team. Syracuse has a lot of talent returning from last year's title team, but managed to lose an unfathomable five games this year - and have seemingly just lacked focus. Princeton dropped off with a lot of seniors leaving, but more so than expected. Hopkins has probably been the most consistent team this year, but losing in Syracuse (to a shaky SU team) leaves them unproven in some minds. Virginia has a novelty act in Christmas (I'll leave that without more comment) and Maryland is just a nice, decent team that really doesn't scare anyone. Any of them could win it all, and still not look all that outstanding relative to recent teams by the power schools.

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Marmel
Are you going to any of the games Quiksand?

I'm there like Yogi Bear.

[BishopMVP]

Originally posted by QuikSand
Virginia has a novelty act in Christmas (I'll leave that without more comment)

Do you think Christmas is better than Mike Powell? I saw Powell play out at UMass this year (torrential downpour, but he still had a few points) and then again on Saturday where he looked much better. I haven't seen Christmas at all (had a game today when they were showing UVA on Tape Delay), but other than just his great speed is he still a great attackman? It seems he was shut down by GT.

[QuikSand]

Christmas basically is a great athlete, and simply because of that he's effective. He's extremely fast and quick, and when they drop the ball in to him, he has the ability to create on his own. It's Virginia's best "play" - drop it to Christmas, see if he can score.

He doesn't have much of an all-around game. He's a lousy passer, and doesn't see the field well or read defenses well at all. I don't mean to detract from his effectiveness, but that's what I mean by "novelty act" - he's not really a great lacrosse player, but rather a great athlete who's playing lacrosse. I think he is more susceptible to being shut down by a well-coordinated defense, rather than a single good defender shadowing him.

Michael Powell is a much better all-around player, for certain. He has a field presence, and a good scoring instinct. He, too, is a good athlete, but he's much more of a pivot for the offense - he can pass and distribute when he draws too much attention. Plus, he plays in a fairly wide-open, transition-based offense (typical of Syracuse) that creates a number of pretty spectacular opportunities for their playmakers.


And yes (for those of you who follow this game and see the undertone) I know how this sounds. These are my honest impressions.

[Frozenrope]

Where's Tauter? He should chime in...

[Samdari]

QS,

Where and how did you get your tickets? I am looking but cannot find anything I like.

[tucker342]

21 STRAIGHT YEARS!!!!

Locrosse is such a fun sport I love playing it...

[BishopMVP]

Interesting analysis, Quik. You make him sound like the typical great High School player where they can just run by most defenders, only Christmas can do it in college. We had someone at my HS who did that a few years ago, ended up going and playing down at UNC.

As for the games, I'm predicting Hopkins over Virginia in the final. Even with the way they played last week, I don't think Syracuse will be able to win. I just think they won't be as up for this game since they already beat Hopkins this year. For the UVA-MD game, I think that Maryland tries to make it run n' shoot but Tillman Johnson stops enough shots for Virginia to pull it out. In the final, I think Hopkins mids and depth pull it out. Then again, SU is the only one of four teams I've seen this year so take it for what it's worth.

[QuikSand]

Well, here's how today went:

In the opener, Syracuse got out to a strong start, leading 3-0 midway through the first quarter. They led 4-1, and then 7-5 close to the half. However, Hopkins scored just before halftime to get within 7-6, and then just turned it on - scoring five more straight in the third quarter, and never looking back. I was heading for the "pass out" break with the score 17-7 in the fourth quarter, with several minutes yet to play out, but no doubt about the outcome at all.

In the second game, Virginia played a very tight defense - but it was tough to say whether it was their tough D of Maryland's anemic offense that really triggered the punishing win. Virginia, as it turns out, didn';t go to John Christmas at all - he wasn't a factor today, perhaps because of the terrible surface (very muddy and slippery, guys were falling all day long). When we bailed, it was an ugly 12-3, a real yawner of a game.


For the finals on Monday, I'm inclined to think Hopkins is the more sound team overall - they are certainly deep, and disciplined. Virginia didn't face much in Maryland, and looked good in crushing them - but should get a very different look from the Jays. I'll predict Hopkins 11-7.

[tucker342]

You went to the games QuikSand?

That must have been pretty awesome.

[QuikSand]

Yes, the lax final four bounces around the mid-Atlantic region, but I never miss it. (Haven't since 1991) This year and next in Baltimore... after that, we'll see. They announced attendance of 37,000 for today (with crappy weather) - which might keep the thing here for a while.

Today the games were pretty dreadful, both ended up being runaways, but we've had more than our fair share of thrillers over recent years.

[Cards4ever]

Maybe they will put on a good show in the Final. Interesting sport, I hope it grows.

[NYFAN]

I never played, but growing up where I did I follow the sport more than most. I went to Ward Melville, home of god knows how many top players over the past 2 or 3 decades, off the top of my head I know we've sent Chris (and his brother Willy if he hasn't graduated) Passavia from MD, Liam Banks and Thomas Theodorakis on Syracuse, Drew Casino on Princeton, Derek Preuss on Virginia, and a ton to other schools you guys didn't mention. Anyway, I was just curious if Ward Melville rung a bell with anyone, and maybe there's fellow alumni out there :)

[BishopMVP]

They weren't close games, but the Hopkins-Syracuse game was still exciting to watch. The goal that I think Benson scored where he scooped up the ground ball from X, came around, dove, and threw the backhanded shot was pretty sweet.

In the UVA-Maryland game, it might have been harder to see from the stands but Tillman Johnson was coming up with some ridiculous saves. There were at least 4 or 5 shots that should have been goals.

For the final I think Hopkins will win too. They have so much depth at midfield and they play great team offense, making 2 or 3 passes after they beat a man which Maryland (and UVA) wasn't doing yesterday. If Johnson plays the same way he did though I could see UVA pulling it out like 10-9 or something.

NYFan - I've met a few kids from Ward Melville and that whole Long Island area (Manhasset/West Islip) at camps.

[tucker342]

It's sounding like Hopkins is by far the better team. I bet they're going to win by quite a lot...

[BFleming]

The game is on right now...2-0 virginia on a really sloppy field...it's on espn if anyone wants to watch

[QuikSand]

The UVa goalie, Tillman Johnson (a kid from Annapolis) conitnues to play lights-out. As I write, he just stoned a wide-open shot to keep UVA up 5-0.

Go Hoos!

[QuikSand]

6-4 UVa at the half... Hopkins got things going, needless to say.

[tucker342]

At the end of the third it's 8-5 UVA...

[tucker342]

dola-

That was a huge goal by UVA at the end of the third quater...

[QuikSand]

Unbelievable shot by Christmas with about 2:00 left... puts UVa up 9-6, and presumably seals the deal.

[QuikSand]

Virginia 9, Johns Hopkins 7 FINAL

Pretty entertaining finish, even under the conditions. Lots of moving parts down the stretch, with fouls and checks all over the place. UVa's keeper Johnson will certainly be the finals MVP - what a game for him.

[BishopMVP]

Originally posted by QuikSand
Pretty entertaining finish, even under the conditions. Lots of moving parts down the stretch, with fouls and checks all over the place. UVa's keeper Johnson will certainly be the finals MVP - what a game for him.

I would have liked to have seen a better field today. I don't know if it would have made a difference in who won, but players like Christmas in particular were hampered by it. I think it was an even game, but the difference in the end was Johnson playing a little better than Scheer and AJ Shannon being the only one on either team who could score from outside. Doneger was off today shooting and that hurt Hopkins.


On a side note, I was watching the game with my mom, and when they showed a graphic of Johnson with the hometown, she recognized him. Apparently we lived 3 houses down from him before we moved up here.:eek:

[tauter]

Cards,
Not sure if you care, but I just wanted to let you know that HS lacrosse in MN is growing by leaps and bounds (and before any east coasters start in on me, yes I know, we're nowhere near as good as you guys are :D, we just started playing here about 7 years ago). Anyway, Jefferson is a favorite to win the guys title this year, seeing that you're from Bloomington I thought that might interest you. The playoffs start soon, if you'd like more info I can pass that on to you.

Tillman Johnson stood on his head all weekend, great performance. That string in the 4th? quarter where he stopped 3 point blank shots on the EMO was unreal. I hope my goalies were watching. :)

[Cards4ever]

Originally posted by tauter
Cards,
Not sure if you care, but I just wanted to let you know that HS lacrosse in MN is growing by leaps and bounds (and before any east coasters start in on me, yes I know, we're nowhere near as good as you guys are :D, we just started playing here about 7 years ago). Anyway, Jefferson is a favorite to win the guys title this year, seeing that you're from Bloomington I thought that might interest you. The playoffs start soon, if you'd like more info I can pass that on to you.

Tillman Johnson stood on his head all weekend, great performance. That string in the 4th? quarter where he stopped 3 point blank shots on the EMO was unreal. I hope my goalies were watching. :)

Sure, keep me updated!

Where do they play over here, at the HS?

Where is the State Tourney?

I heard that they are going to be playing indoor Lacrosse at Mariucci this fall, you know anything about that?

[tauter]

Jefferson plays at Normandale Hills Elementary school.

The state tourney, only the final four actually, will be played at the U of M's Robbie stadium. The semi-finals are on Wednesday June 4th and the championship, and 3rd place game, is Saturday June 7th.

Not sure about fall ball, but we've been playing winter league at the Nagurski complex for a few seasons now.

[Cards4ever]

Some guy called into KFAN and said that we were going to have some kind of pro team playing there, that would be cool!

I suppose with Title IX the odds of the Gophers having a Div 1 team are long. :(

[tauter]

Well, it's not "varsity" status, but the U does have a men's club team. They've been in a league for over 10 years now. They lost to my alma mater (UMD) this year in the championship game at the NSC in Blaine.

You can follow them here. (http://www.umll-lax.org/)